passport hell

[tattyrose567]

Really really desperate and fusturated I have wanted to get a passport for so long my mum did every single other sibliing but mine grrrr and now i really need one but have literally no one to counter sign!! the doctors no longer do it and I've literally exhausted every option what can I do ?? Guessing I will just never ever be able to get one feel like I'm being denied something and will never be able to go abroad I'm 23 with a nearly 2 year old :////

What do you do with your days, OP-give us an outline and maybe we can suggest something.

Good idea.

Local district/parish/county councillor will do it, even if they don't know you. Teachers will do it.

I recently did it for an 18 month old (!), I am a relatively junior local government officer and they accepted it (they did email/phone and check I was a real person on the details give).

Just to say as well that as it's your first passport you'll also have to go for an interview. I had mine a few years ago and it wasn't anything stressful, just some questions about myself that I had to answer. Have you got anyone at the local Surestart that you could ask?

I think you can also ask religious leaders - priest/Rabbi/Imam

My GP can't do it because he's Dutch! But the criteria for a signer are not very strict. Basically just someone 'respectable'.

riceuten Local district/parish/county councillor will do it, even if they don't know you. - This is absolutely not true. Perhaps you would like to familiarise yourself with the requirements for countersignatories.

My DH is a Parish councillor and he would absolutely not sign a passport photo for someone he doesn't know or only knows from passing them in the street. He has signed many passport photos in his professional work capacity for people whom he works though.

Anyone who's known you long enough (two years) can sign as long as they have a job really! I think you need their passport number sometimes (kids applications maybe).

you always need their passport numbers.

My boss couldn't do it for while because she hadn't changed her passport to her married name.

My GP can't do it because he's Dutch! But the criteria for a signer are not very strict. Basically just someone 'respectable'

Your GP can't do it because he is a GP. It's specifically excluded. Being Dutch is no problem, and current EU passport is fine.

And there is a very specific list for what is allowed, not just someone respectable.

Take it to the post office. They will check your documents and sign it.

No they don't, they just check it's filled in correctly. They will only countersign it if they have known you for 2 years

Probation officer? Not suggesting you’ve had one, but you may know one socially.

Take it to the post office. They will check your documents and sign it

not even slightly how it works.

I had a similar problem, mine expired and i had been off grid for 5 years raising my son. No friends, he changed school and his old teachers/head had moved on. I literally knew nobody. It was a stressful time because i needed one for a new job i had just landed. In the end i contacted the passport office and took their advise. I think its your best port of call if you are at a loss like i was

tattyrose567, could you perhaps tell us a bit about the people you do know and what they do ... even if it has been irregular contact over the past couple of years ... then we could perhaps tell you who might be eligible to countersign.

Pharmacist could also do it. If you look up a notary public you can legally pay them to do it.

The landlord of the village pub did mine, or you can ask a nursery/school teacher etc

Why can't doctors sign specifically?

They can but only if they know you personally as a friend rather than just a doctor/patient relationship

Is anyone else feeling impressed at all the types of professions they don't have any regular relationship with? Luckily I know some university lecturers.

From .gov website:

People who aren’t accepted

Your countersignatory can’t:

• work forHMPassport Office
• be a doctor, unless they state that they know you well (eg good friend) and that they recognise you easily from your photo

A notary public cannot countersign your passport. They can only certify a copy of one. Your own doctor is not allowed to countersign - it's due to too much demand, apparently. The countersignatory needs to have known the OP personally for two years, they need to have their own passport, they cannot be related to the OP or live at the same address - that is the difficulty. The OP doesn't know any teachers, etc.

I am a hv. Policy dictates we are not allowed to sign passports because a) we have up to 400 children on our caseload at any given time and signing forms and having them followed up on is a ballache when you are stretched with lots of important work as it is b) you have to have known that parents personally for two years- not professionally and c)
Giving your passport number or any other personal details is a no no

Isn’t there a way you can do an affidavit instead of a counter signature?

I'm a teacher and whilst I will happily countersign for friends, I don't for parents/pupils-I just don't have the time.

I have been given a passport form before at the school gates by parents of a child I'd taught for 2 weeks who'd only just arrived at the school/area. The passport form was totally blank and the dad asked if I could fill all my details in and he'd fill all their bits in afterwards.

I declined .